Another TAG project

Alrite, I cant stand it any longer.Thought throwing that NFT tomato grower together might satisfy my need for doing something hydro-wise, but no way. Gotta build a TAG setup. Not sure what I`ll grow in it- maybe just more tomatoes. Cuts down on the complication factor a lot. The big problem with growing the weed is that the power goes off around here every time the weather changes and sometimes for a lot of hours. A battery backup is more time and work and I wamt to keep this as simple as possible.
Anyway, been looking into the ways to aerolize a liquid and the compressed air verturi is the way Im gonna go. It gives a very small particle size and I already have the stuff to build it. Namely a nebulizer as used for asthma and other breathing problems and a nebulizer head. The nebulizer is just a small 120 vac compressor and a cleverly designed nozzle that produces a fine smoke like mist.
This has advantages and disadvantages vs a high pressure pump and mist head. The nebulizer head isnt prone to clogging since air passes thru the orifice instead of liquid.
How it works.
The air excapes thru the little hole in the clear plastic resivoir. The pressure differential between the hole in the green piece and the liquid level draws liquid up the inside of the tower of the green piece and covers the hole with a thin film of liquid. The air blows the droplet off , the film reforms and rapidly and repeats continously. Pretty wild physics going on there.
It works like a an old timey carbeurator did if anyone remembers those.
Same principle that makes an airplane wing fly with an added twist. The white top filters out the larger sized droplets and. Removing it increases the output a lot. Looks like an adjustment to me.
Now for the container. I`m thinking a verticle length of 6-8 " pipe with a test plant in the top. But how long are the roots gonna get ? Could accomadate 8 ft in the greenhouse. Locating it out there solves the noise problem too. Could run the compressor all the time - that solves the problem of switching it on and off too.
Seems like free hanging roots are gonna have the most possible surface area. And exposed root surface area is what it`s all about.
Anyone has any thoughts feel free to jump in here.
Heres the pics.

I am looking forward to seeing how this unfolds. I think you are on to something here but you should read my links from my thread. I'm afraid that you are thinking it will be a bit easier than it is. I noticed that you said you power does out with weather storms. One thing that you will need to understand about TAG is that things work on a very accelerated rate. What I mean is that in soil if you have a deficient plant and you need to correct it it can easily take a week without foliar feeding. This DWC a correction can take a day, but with TAG reaction is noticed in hours. There for if your power goes out the roots do not have a medium to support and hold water. No power->no pump->no water->no plants you know what I mean. If you over fert you literally have an hour or two to fix the toxicity levels. If you go on vacation and you have an automated setup, if one thing fails you WILL lose your crop.

One more concern I had was the "fog" from the Neb. I read something about too small of a size particle but I will have to dig that up a bit later. Don't let me discourage you because like I said I think you are on to something here. I have thought alot about using my sons Neb as soon as he no longer needs it. I hope that you can get it working great an post your results. I can tell you one thing... you have my attention.

ALSO I AM GLAG TO SEE YOU TAGGING ALONG WITH ME. I HOPE THAT WE CAN START A NATION OF TAGGER HERE ON THIS FORUM. IT TRUELY IS IMO THE VERY BEST WAY TO GROW TO DATE.

Thanks bro. I see proven that great minds think alike once again.
The particle size appears adjustable by way of modification of the filter. Ill shoot it in better detail. Thanks the heads up on the reaction time. Hadnt thot of that. The lack of an UPS is a concern as you said. How did you solve this? A lead acid battery, dc-ac converter and trickle charger matched to the compressor draww would be nice. Alternately I could spray the roots with something till the power came back on. Sounds like a lot of fun in the middle of the night.
Do you agree that a verticle big diameter pipe allows for the most root space? Seems to me that what needs to be created is a saturated (100% humidity) airspace oround the roots. Apparently temp is a considertion. Got any info?
A PC cpu fan might help to circulate the air.
If the compressor air intake comes from the root chamber and it is sealed the plants water/nute uptake can be monitored.
I can also see a funnel at the bottom of the pipe feeding the condensate back into the neb head.
BTw i`vwe seen nebs on Ebay for 20-30 $USD.

As far as me solving the hasty reaction time well that is just a matter of aero there really isn't anything we can do I'd say. My power does out like once a year lol so I have no worries there. If the power does go out for a good length of time I suppose that I would just put them in a bucket of water till it came back on. I have heard of them being hand spray in times of emergency so yeah on that one.

The very best advice I can give you is to read these threads. I know that there is ALOT there but this is a science, and to be done by the lazy grower. Reading is VERY important when it come to TAG.

International Cannagraphic Magazine Forums - TAG - Landing (Resource for True Aero Growing
International Cannagraphic Magazine Forums - Get your TAN while you TAG!)
International Cannagraphic Magazine Forums - Advanced Foliar Techniques Explored
International Cannagraphic Magazine Forums - Trick my Pod - The complete Aeroponics primer

These are very informative threads and you absolutely must read them if you are about to undertake the TAG challenge. If you look through that last link and go to the last page you will see me AKA "Villain". Look at the dates, I have been at this for more than 6 months and still no plants. I have been reading and building, reading and building. It has been a long process and is not even close to over, as it has not even begun yet. Growing will be the hardest part, The plants will react quickly as I said and you have VERY LITTLE time for error. TAG away my friend but make sure you are prepared, the last thing you want is to lose 120.00 worth of seeds and 1000.00 worth of equipment.

Read and noted. That guy is really into it. The nutes info is very interesting. I`m beginning to think that I could blend my own fertilizer, er I mean, nutes. I have found that Miracle grow bloom or shultz bloom booster works pretty well on most anything from petunias to pot. We grow a fair amount of plants around here and have for some time. I put a couple pinches of bloom booster to a couple of gallons water in the nft system. The tag holds about half a gallon so we`ll start small and work the concentration up.
The pics tell the story. But if not: the mist condenses on the roots and bucket walls and drains back into the mist head thru added holes in the housing and setting it 1/2" below th bottom of the bucket. The whole thing is pretty tight so dont think much water will excape. It shouldnt take long for the plant to outgrow the rez capacity. But i`ll fix that when it happens.
The pics dont really do justice to how wet it is inside the bucket. Pretty sure that a 100% duty cycle is overkill. Suppose Ill have to deal with that next.
The sealant around the mist head is rubber roofing lap sealant. Good stuff -even sticks thru water.

WOW that is pretty damn inventive if I had to say. I just cannot stop saying to myself This guy is really on to something. I said before that I thought about using a Neb, but you really went and figured out a way to actually usefully, and effectively use a Neb.

As for your nutrients my friend I couldn't disagree more. I HATE MG and well Shultz is better by far, but still no DM, or FF. My best advice to you and ANY aero grower... USE DUTCHMASTER'S ONE series it is "specifically design for aero growing"

Maybe, but I`m beginning ti thnk that you and I are the only ones interested in it. I guess if ya alredy have a suscessful system going why bother to fuck with it. Personally I likle to design stuff and make my ideas work just for the fun of it.
Added a plexy window to better shoot whats going on in there. There was a l;ittle problem with the seal- it leaked a bit and was also plugging one of the water holes causing the mist to stop. Fixed that.
The damn thing is loud. What with the compressor purring and the jet hissing. Some sound control is in order for indoor use- but that shouldnt be a problem.
Guess its a matter of waiting to see what happens now.
Ah yes the great fertilizer debate- I dont even want to touch it.

zkt said:

The lack of an UPS is a concern as you said. How did you solve this? A lead acid battery, dc-ac converter and trickle charger matched to the compressor draww would be nice.

Click to expand...

I use a UPS like the ones you use for your computer. If I loose power I turn down the cycle to 30 sec every 10 min. Without lights you can keep your plants alive for days. Your ice cream is a different story.

I also have a small 1000W Honda generator if needed. My van has a 2800W Onan generator and my motor home has a 7500W generator! Jezz, I could power a small city!

Yea gererators are way cool. A car battery, dc to 120vac converter and trickle charger does a nice job to .But hell could just fill the bucket with water- that will hold it at least for a day.
I thinking tha maybe I`ll replace the tomato with a clone and put it in the light box. Just finishing harvesting and have one in a 4" pot under MH than I could take out of the soil.
The noise is the big concern. Could put the compressor in a box with a lot of fiberglas insulation and duct the heat generated by the compressor motor out with a small blower. that might work.
Or could use a larger compressor with an 8 gal. storage tank.
More experimentation is in order/